After washing and drying the surface moisture with a paper towel, the marination began. He used a touch of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper powder, a ladleful of Scallion and Ginger water, and a little bit of soft white sugar.
Once these were added, he used his hand to stir in one direction, working the Fish until it developed a sticky, firm texture. This would ensure a tender and smooth mouthfeel and also thoroughly reduce the fishiness.
After the Scallion and Ginger water was fully incorporated, he added an Egg White, then a handful of soaked potato starch, and mixed well.
Finally, he drizzled in some cooking oil to seal and protect the batter.
By this time, the fish bones had also soaked sufficiently. He removed them, rubbed them with salt for a while, and similarly drained them of water.
After dealing with the Fish, he began to prepare the pickled vegetables.
He peeled apart the pickled vegetables, stacked them, and cut them into small sections.
Sour radishes were cut into strips, pickled ginger into shreds, pickled wild mountain peppers chopped finely, and garlic flattened.
He placed these ingredients together, then finally cut the red pickled pepper into small sections, completing the preparation.
These steps were not difficult for Lin Xu.
However, he watched very carefully because these details in ingredient preparation revealed a chef’s professional dedication and basic skills.
"When making Pickled Vegetable Fish, you must blanch the pickled vegetables," Dai Jianli instructed. "Otherwise, the sourness might be acceptable, but the saltiness will definitely be too strong. If you find the pickled vegetables in the dish inedible, it means the dish isn’t up to par. In a standard Pickled Vegetable Fish, the pickled vegetables must be as delicious as the Fish!"
Blanching?
This step was somewhat beyond Lin Xu’s expectations.
While Dai Jianli boiled the water, Lin Xu asked curiously, "Chef Dai, what if blanching reduces the sourness?"
Dai Jianli pointed to the White Vinegar placed nearby. "Add White Vinegar during cooking; use it to bring out the tart fragrance."
Got it, another trick learned.
Not far away, watching the recording in front of the monitor, Zhen Wensheng whispered to Geng Lishan, "He doesn’t seem to be just teaching cooking; it’s more like he’s teaching how to run a restaurant."
Geng Lishan smiled. "That’s how it should be taught, without any reservation. Only then can Chinese cuisine be passed on... Oh yes, let’s find some time later. I’ll have Lin Xu cook a lost recipe for everyone to feast their eyes on. We can’t just make home-cooked dishes all the time; we need to show some high-end dishes occasionally. Otherwise, the audience might think we hired a chef from a roadside stall."
A lost recipe?
Zhen Wensheng’s eyes lit up immediately. "Great, great, the program team will fully cooperate."
Lost recipes, huh? If that dish is made, won’t the ratings soar?
Dai Jianli put the cut pickled vegetables into a pot of cold water and brought it to a boil. He skimmed off the floating scum, then boiled them for just over a minute before removing them.
As it boiled, the unique fermented smell of the pickled vegetables wafted through the room.
The water in the pot also changed color.
Visually, blanching seemed quite necessary. And these were even Dai Jianli’s own pickled vegetables! If they were store-bought, the water would probably be even dirtier.
After the pickled vegetables were taken out and drained, Dai Jianli washed the wok clean and placed it back on the stove to heat up.
Once hot, he added the drained pickled vegetables and stir-fried them in the dry wok.
Hmm? What was this step for?
"Stir-frying them dry like this," Dai Jianli explained, "removes excess moisture, which intensifies the fragrance of the pickled vegetables and also makes their texture crispier."
This was another little trick that most chefs wouldn’t reveal.
Lin Xu secretly took note, planning to try it himself later.
I had originally planned to master this dish using a Cooking Learning Card. But considering this dish shared similarities with Boiled Fish—the main difference being one used Doubanjiang for Red Oil Soup and the other used a pickled vegetable broth—using a Cooking Learning Card felt somewhat wasteful. It’s better to figure it out myself. I’ll treat it as practice for my basic skills. As for the remaining two Cooking Learning Cards, they should naturally be reserved for more significant, complex dishes.
As he contemplated, a system notification sounded in his mind: "Host chooses not to take shortcuts, triggering the side quest [Accumulating Depth of Knowledge]: The host is required to independently make a Superior grade Pickled Vegetable Fish within 24 hours, without the aid of the Cooking Learning Card and the points mall. Upon completion, the reward will be a Superior grade seafood dish—Braised fish."
Braised fish? Isn’t that just the Fish Tail?
Lin Xu hadn’t expected that simply by being reluctant to use a Cooking Learning Card, he would trigger a side quest.
Given the circumstances, I should pay serious attention to Chef Dai’s methods. After the session, I’ll go back to the Fishing Platform with him to borrow some ingredients like pickled vegetables, sour radishes, Pickled Peppers, and pickled ginger to practice thoroughly. I’m determined to master this Braised fish dish.
With that in mind, Lin Xu refocused his attention on the present.
At that moment, the pickled vegetables in the wok were being stir-fried until dry and aromatic.
Dai Jianli removed them from the wok. He then washed the wok again, heated it, and added cool oil to season it. He swirled the oil to coat the surface, poured out the excess, and then repeated the seasoning process once more.
Clearly, he’s preparing to fry the fish bones and head. One would only go to such lengths to season the wok when frying ingredients like these.
He poured oil into the wok. Once hot, he placed the fish head, skin-side out, into the wok, followed by the other fish bones. He fried them over high heat until golden brown, then flipped them using a large ladle.
"In a hotel kitchen, this step is usually deep-frying," Dai Jianli said. "But for home cooking, deep-frying is too much hassle, so pan-frying like this is more convenient."
"The Fish bones need to be thoroughly fried," Lin Xu agreed. "It’s better to overcook them slightly than to undercook them, because the success of the Milk Soup that follows depends entirely on this step."
Zeng Xiaoqi’s eyes sparkled.
She knew that the trick to making a rich fish broth was to pan-fry the fish components and then add boiling water; this method produced a Milk Soup.
She hadn’t expected this technique to be applicable to Pickled Vegetable Fish as well.